


Saudade

by luucarii



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hoshido | Birthright Route, Pre-Fire Emblem Fates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-25 22:59:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12543172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luucarii/pseuds/luucarii
Summary: (n.) a nostalgic longing to be near again to something or someone that is distant, or that has been loved and lost, “the love that remains.”or corrin chooses to side with hoshido, leaving her precious little brother behind and leo misses her desperately





	1. comfort

**Author's Note:**

> this has been in my notes for the past month, i just finished it
> 
> and i would be very ashamed of myself if i had an archives and i didn't post a leo/corrin fic
> 
> so here

“You are not truly our sibling, nor are you a child of the Nohrian Royal Family.” 

 

Leo felt the wind behind him chill his spine and his gaze immediately went to his older sister—Corrin. Her posture stiffened, legs pressed firmly together, arms glued to her sides. With the thick silence in the air, he could hear the faint gulp she took. The Nohrian Princess, age twelve, had been staring up at her older brother Xander, a cold, lifeless look in her eyes as if her world had just shattered, which in her mind, it just did.

 

She made a sound Leo could barely distinguish as an “oh,” before Camilla broke the silence with the slow tapping of her heels against the floor. She wrapped her lithe arms around Corrin, caressing her face as usual and attempting to play with her ears, something everyone knew would elicit at least a small chuckle. She stood there, completely numb to any feeling.

 

“Sibling or not, we will always love you sweetie! Isn’t that right, Leo?”

 

Leo forgot for a moment that Elise was spared the serious talk. She was still at the ripe age of six and it would most likely ruin her childhood innocence if she learned of her favorite playmate not being related to her. He straightened his back and cleared his throat, watching Camilla slowly turn Corrin to face him. The same dead expression was set in her face. Glossy crimson eyes blinked slowly, hell Leo was worried she forgot to blink a few times, lips dry and pressed into a thin line.

 

Leo could barely manage a word and Corrin quietly slipped out of Camilla’s grasp and slumped up the stairs to her room.

 

\---

 

Leo waited until the rest of his siblings had gone to bed. He wouldn’t have to worry about Xander roaming the halls, making sure the servants were silently doing their duties so not to wake Corrin or Elise, nor worry about Camilla scrambling around for her maids to help wash her hair during her evening showers.

 

He figured she’d be awake. He passed by her room dozens of times since her retreat and heard the faint sniffles from behind the door. No way the poor princess could possibly sleep after having her whole life be confirmed as a lie. As he approached her door, it was silent and he wondered for a second if she had grown tired of crying and perhaps just wanted to sleep it off. He knocked with a stiff hand, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe.

 

“Corrin? Are you awake?” He whispered against the slight crack in the door and paused for a moment to wait for a response. There was shuffling heard and slow footsteps going toward the door.

 

Leo stood back and adjusted his shirt, hand folded behind his back as he subconsciously straightened his back. He was just a few inches shorter than Corrin and he knew how much she loved to use it to tease him. It was force of habit to suddenly appear taller whenever he went to see her.

 

Corrin opened her door just a crack large enough for him to fit through and she made doubly sure to close it all the way once Leo slipped inside. She limped toward her bed and slipped into the covers. Beside her was the frame of an old picture, taken not long ago, two years ago on Elise’s fourth birthday. Although their father was unable to attend the party, Xander and Camilla gave careful orders to the servants to make sure that party would be nothing short of fantastic. Corrin, age ten in the picture, stood next to an eight year old Leo, ruffling his hair while Elise struggled to look tall compared to her older siblings. Xander and Camilla stood beside each other, watching over the three kids as almost makeshift parents. The picture was a frozen memory of that day. When they were all happy. When Corrin still believed she was Xander’s little kid princess, and Elise’s playmate. It was easy to spot the clouds on the glass, and the faint outlines of teardrops and notice the marks left on the sides of her arms, probably from holding the corners too tightly against her skin.

 

“How are you feeling?” Leo asked, blinking at her, frown tugging at his lips as he noticed her blank expression staring at the picture frame. She hummed a response, tracing a finger of the outline of her family like a drawing.

 

“I’m sure you’ve probably heard this hundreds of times by now, but I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I swear, I knew nothing about this, I’m just as shocked as you are.”

 

Corrin mumbled something Leo couldn’t hear and when she noticed the way he leaned in, she swallowed and spoke a little louder, voice barely above a whisper, “you have nothing to apologize for. You did nothing wrong.”

 

Leo moved onto the side of her bed, sitting near the edge and staring at the picture, refusing to meet eye contact. Her lifeless eyes terrified him and he didn’t want to see her like that.

 

“I just can’t believe I never realized it. Or thought of it.” A hiss escaped her lips and she hugged herself, gripping her arms tightly, “i’m nothing like you, or Camilla or Xander or Elise. Gods, I’m so _different_. Red eyes, pale skin, I couldn’t be Nohrian even if I tried.”

 

Leo wanted to say how interesting he really found her eyes. How he would wonder how she got the color to begin with, and why it would always sparkle with an almost fiery crimson in the sunlight. How beautiful that pale skin can get under the right lighting to make her look downright flawless.

 

“I’m just a fake.”

 

Leo bit his lip and watched her bury her head in her pillow. Unsure of words, he sat at the edge of her bed, refusing to leave despite her constant hisses to be left in peace. He couldn’t leave her alone, he wouldn’t allow himself to. No, whether related or not, he was her little brother, and he had to be there for her.

 


	2. teasing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "little brother"

Leo looked over her shoulder, a disproving glint in his narrowed eyes. Corrin stiffened a bit under his watchful eye but continued to lightly jot down notes from the small hardcover book she held down with her elbow. They were irritating notes, some of which she was copying verbatim from the book with no knowledge of what they actually meant. She slightly hated the idea of her younger brother teaching her. Leo, age fifteen, while Corrin only a year older, had become widely regarded as the most intelligent of the Nohrian Royalty at his young age. He took up the divine tome Brynhildr and practiced himself ruthlessly in black magic and the arts of strategy, converting him into an excellently capable tactician.

 

Corrin, still regulated to the Northern Fortress, was forced to be taught by Leo, orders from Garon, much to her reluctance. She had no qualms with Leo, in fact, he just so happened to be his favorite of her siblings, but the thought that her younger brother was more successful than she was sent a competitive spark through her body. Not to mention the fact that he was slowly growing to be taller than her.

 

Leo clicked his tongue and tapped her desk three times, ordering her to stop and she did, albeit biting back a sigh. She slipped her pen into the crease of the book and shut it close. Leo snatched her paper, and scanned through it with swift eyes, once and a while, giving cold steady glances.

 

“My grade?” Corrin mumbled, tapping her foot against the floor impatiently.

 

Leo hummed to himself, a thin smirk creasing his lips. He held the paper to his chest and leaned down, nose mere inches away from hers. “You know Corrin, I’m quite impressed.”

 

Despite the faint red tinting her cheeks, Corrin’s face lit up with a small arrogant smile. She looked up at him, arms behind her back as she straightened her shoulders. “See, I told you. I can be a good student. I’ve been studying.”

 

“You didn’t let me finish.” Leo sighed and slipped her paper back in front of her, “I’m quite impressed. Somehow, you managed to lower your grade by forty percent.”

 

“Leo!” Corrin hissed and shoved him away with a pout, crossing her arms and looking over her paper, “it can’t be that bad!”

 

“Maybe I’m exaggerating. It’s probably around forty-five percent.”

 

Leo let out a sly chuckle and Corrin rolled her eyes, slipping out of her seat and dusting off her clothes. Her back straightened as she turned to face Leo, hating the fact she had to tilt her head up a bit just to meet eye level with him. He snickered, his face melting back into the serious glare Corrin associated with his “teacher” look.

 

“I suppose we’re going to have to go over the entire chapter over again.”

 

“No! No, Gods, please no!” Corrin slumped down to her knees, head tilted upwards to meet Leo’s near sadistic brown eyes, “please, Leo! I understand the contents, it’s just…difficult to register, that’s all.”

 

Leo’s eyes softened and he sighed, reaching out his hand and pulling Corrin to her feet. She frowned, huffing quietly as Leo pulled out her chair and nudged his head for her to sit. She obeyed, as she had to, and slipped back into the chair. Leo slowly pushed her chair in and leaned down beside her, sliding the book to his side and opening to the first page of the chapter.

 

“You’re too cruel to me, you know. I’m not good at memorizing all these texts and dates. How is this suppose to help me when I go out on the battlefield?” Corrin rolled her eyes and leaned backwards, crossing her arms over her chest. Leo closed the book and shifted his attention onto her.

 

“Who is our main enemy?”

 

“Hoshido,” Corrin answered without hesitation, he was testing her with a ridiculously easy question like that, “everyone knows that.”

 

“Perhaps that was too easy. Name the members of the Royal Family.”

 

“Why in Gods name do I need to know—“ She cut herself off with a sigh and took a minute to think. She remembered overhearing talk of the Hoshidan warriors, specifically the powerful retainers to the Royal Family. There were four, no five? They all had such exotic names, it was a bit difficult to remember the way the soldiers pronounced them. “Um, I know the Crown Prince Ry…Ryoma or something? And then there’s a girl, I think she’s the youngest? Sakura?”

 

“Two out of five. At least you got Lord Ryoma’s title correct.” Leo clicked his tongue, “now, tell me why you need to know that.”

 

“Gods knows why!” Corrin snapped, slamming her hand on the table and stood up, glaring at Leo with slanted crimson eyes. Her nose scrunched up a little bit and shoved him backwards. “Gods knows why I need to memorize who Lord Ryoma is or why he’s next in line to wield some divine blade Rajjinto or something or why the youngest prince Takumi is practicing archery to wield that shiny bow Fujin Yumi from that stupid book!”

 

Leo smirked and held out an arm, touching her shoulder lightly. She twitched a bit before calming down, using one hand to grab her forehead in frustration. Leo guided her back to her seat and stood behind her, hands on her shoulders as he grinned to himself proudly.

 

“You know you’re the only one who knows how to push my buttons like that.” Corrin grumbled, heart pounding at the feeling of lithe fingers lightly pressing on her shoulders. She ignored the heat in her cheeks and sat in her chair with a pout, staring at her fingers tapping nervously at her thighs.

 

“But you remembered more important details than you did before, did you not?’

 

Corrin let out of a huff, crossing her arms. She clicked her tongue and her foot tapped at the floor. “You’re an annoyance, you know that?”

 

“Indeed.”

 

What a half-assed answer. She hissed under her breath and sighed, shaking her head and leaning back as Leo chuckled softly, continuing his work on her shoulders.

 

“You are unique, Corrin. Can’t remember anything on your own yet the minute your emotions get the best of you, your thoughts and judgement prove to be quite effective.” Leo jokingly pat her head and she bit back a groan. “You could be quite the tactician for the Nohrian Army one day.”

 

“I’m going to be a solider. A commander. I’ll have you handle all my tactics, okay little brother?”

 

Leo stopped and stiffened a bit, retracted his fingers, straightening out his armor. Corrin raised an eyebrow and turned around. His expression shifted to offense and she bit her lip, rerunning the sentence through her head trying to shuffle out the words that made him shut down. 

 

“Leo?”

 

He shook his head. Leo reached over and grabbed the book from the table, putting it under his arm. Brown eyes searched the floor but his lips creased into a smile, albeit a forced one. He mumbled a goodbye and stepped out of the room before Corrin had a chance to say a word.

 

\---

 

She didn’t mean to stumble onto his training, but she wasn’t complaining when she did. Corrin had always longed to see her brother do what he does best — magic — but every time he had excused him to go train, he refused having anyone accompany him. Hiding in one of the army’s training rooms on the bottom floor of the fortress, Leo, with Brynhildr in hand, began to summon tiny trees from magic circles.

 

Corrin was in awe, listening in to the quiet incantations he was muttering and  watching him focus magic into the palm of his right hand. It was a dark purple sphere and a few feet in front of him was the small outline of a magic circle. One after another they appeared on top of each other while Leo struggled to keep the sphere from dancing wildly out of his hand. Sweat formed at his brow and he somehow managed to gasp out the rest of the spell.

 

Leo held out his arm, keeping the ball of magic energy attached to his palm for a second before aiming toward the forming magic circles and firing it off. The magic circles merged into one and the minute the sphere of magic passed over the center, a large tree with a thick trunk and branches decorated with bundles of leaves.

 

The tree lingered for a few seconds before disappearing with the magic circles. Leo dropped down to his knees, panting quietly as he rubbed his right palm softly with his other hand. It was a darker color, strikes of magic littering the pale skin. “The backlash is getting worse, but I’m learning how to control it now.”

 

“Leo?” Corrin stumbled out of her hiding spot, “that was amazing! You really are gifted!” Leo held back a gasp, and rose to his feet, brushing off dust from his pants. He held his hand and gave Corrin a hard stare. She chuckled sheepishly, hand behind her back. “Ah, right. I forgot, you’re one for training alone. Sorry.”

 

“What are you doing here? It’s late, shouldn’t you be in bed?” Leo questioned, closing Brynhildr and tucking it under his arm. It was easy to notice the drowsiness in her expression and yet her body language sang with joyful curiosity.

 

Corrin crossed her arms, eyes narrowing at him, “I could say the same to you, little bro—“

 

“Corrin, get out.” His voiced hardened and Corrin straightened herself, biting her lip as she stared down at her feet. 

 

“What’s the big deal anyway,” she mumbled, “you’ve been avoiding me since this afternoon after our session. What did I say?”

 

“None of your concern.” He shot back with a huff.

 

“It is my concern, you’re my little—“

 

“Will you quit calling me that?!” Leo snapped and Corrin’s brain finally clicked. His face grew a bright crimson, more so from his anger than anything else. Eyes narrowed into slants, glaring coldly at her, His right hand clench tightly into a fist and Corrin could see the way his eyes faltered with the pain. 

 

“Leo, your hand…” Corrin stepped toward him and he flinched in response, loosening his fist. She reached out toward him and gulped when he shifted away. 

 

“I’m not your brother. You know this. So why do you keep calling me as such?” Leo grumbled, frown curving his lips. He looked down at her and Corrin licked her lips in embarrassment.

 

“Force of habit, I suppose? I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it bothered you so much.” She sighed, once again trying to approach him and this time he stood completely still. She reached out and grabbed his injured hand, rubbing it gently with her fingers, “though… you’re the only one who’s bothered by this. Why is that?”

 

Leo looked away, voice dropping low, “n-no particular reason. I just don’t like being called ‘little brother’ when I am, in fact, superior to you in terms of skills.”

 

Corrin giggled, raising his hand and kissing his palm lightly, “you are right, no matter how arrogantly you put it. I’m sorry, Leo. I’ll try not to do it in the future.”

 

His ears turned red as he spat out a quiet, “thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


	3. confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "i love you"

Something was wrong. She screwed up somewhere. There was no way, if she did everything right, that her units would eventually end up dying. Every other solution only bought a few minutes of relief before her soldiers were put into more danger. Two Wyvern Riders, one Knight and two Mercenaries, surrounded by four mages and three archers.

 

“You’ve two moves left Corrin, I wonder how this match will end.” Leo sat across from Corrin, a thin smirk playing his lips, legs crossed. Corrin gritted her teeth and stared at the board in front of her.

 

_Could I take him out in one turn if I get lucky with attacking? I have to try._

 

She moved the Wyvern Rider, attacking one of the mages despite the fact that she would be counterattacked. The Knight attacked the archer, and just barely was unable to take it out. Corrin bit the inside of her cheek. That was checkmate then and there. She couldn’t use the rest of her units to finish off the archers, the mages would just come in and clean up the mess. Not to mention both the Knight and Wyvern Rider’s abysmal resistance to magical attacks.

 

“I surrender.” Corrin sighed and Leo’s snickered.

 

“Mm? I suppose your defeat was inevitable, though a princess does need to know when to spare her men an impossible battle.” Leo slipped from his chair and circled to her side, curling a strand of her ivory hair with his fingers, “you put up a good fight, I’ll commend you for that.”

 

“You’re too modest, Leo.” Corrin hissed and leaned back in her chair, glaring up at the playful mischief in his brown eyes. “This is the ninth time you’ve beaten me this week!”

 

Corrin huffed and crossed her arms, staring at the board, retracing all of her moves just to see where she went wrong. Was it when her third Knight fell? Or was it losing all of her Bow Knights in a single turn? Either way, she screwed up multiple times and was brutally defeated. “If you’re trying to help raise my confidence for next week, you’re not doing a very good job.”

 

“Quite the contrary.” Leo hummed, leaning against her chair, “you strive to be a commander, correct? A commander’s duty isn’t just to always win battles, her job is to make sure to avoid as many casualties as possible if faced with a disadvantage. Understand?”

 

“Father’s not going to be impressed when he sees that all I can do is swing a sword and retreat.” She hissed under her breath, kicking an imaginary object under her chair, “sorry, I guess this whole thing has me stressed out.”

 

Leo hands snaked to her shoulders and he lightly pressed his fingers into her skin, “understandable. This meeting with Father will decided whether or not you leave the Fortress. It’s only natural that you’d want to impress him with everything you have to offer.”

 

Corrin adjusted herself in her seat and reached over for her on the game board. Eighteen years of being locked away in the Northern Fortress, Corrin was finally getting the chance to prove her worth to Garon. “Play me again.” 

 

“Corrin.” He squeezed her shoulders and she turned her head, looking up at him.

 

“Play me again! Come on! I need to beat you at least once, if I’m going to—“

 

“We’ve played three games today, your brain’s fried. You need some rest.” Leo pulled her chair out and reached out his hand, watching Corrin grumble as she reluctantly took it and stood up beside him. It was still a wonder to her how she was a year older than him yet she was still shorter than him by just barely a few inches. He guided her back to her bed and watched her curl up under the covers and stare at the ceiling. Leo sat at the edge of her bed, tracing shapes in the fabric with his fingers.

 

“I just hope everything works out.” She sighed and he chuckled in response.

 

“It will. Stop worrying so much. Xander and I have trained you to the best of our abilities. You’re a capable warrior, Corrin.”

 

Corrin sat up in bed, crossing her legs and giving Leo a serious flick of her crimson eyes. He stiffened a bit, looking on with a raised eyebrow. “Leo, we’re at war with Hoshido, right?” He nodded and she sighed, “why is that? What happened between us?”

 

“We’ve always been rivals. Nothing more than that.”

 

“But why? What started it all? There must have been a reason. We couldn’t have just started fighting for the hell of it!” It wasn’t the first time she had thought about the continuous war with Hoshido. On nights when she had heard news of fallen soldiers due to the war, she could only imagine what could have sparked the war that seemed to have been going on for years. Was it over land? Was it an accidental death on one side? Had either even thought of negotiation before launching an attack?

 

Leo cleared his throat. “That’s a question better suited for Xander, or Father when you go see him.”

 

“I just don’t want you or anyone else dying over a war without a good enough reason. I don’t want blood to be shed just for the sake of fulfilling some lust for war.” He reached for her hand, lacing his fingers with hers and noticed the way her body leaned forward almost instinctively. She blinked up at him, thick worry edged in her voice, “speaking of it, I feel bad for not have mentioning it before. I always thought you were something of an invincible being, Leo. I thought you could never be hurt considering your skill with Brynhildr. But I suppose my naïveté can get the better of me sometimes. This is war. People die—“ she squeezed his hand and heard his breath stop in his chest “—I don’t want you to die. I would never forgive you if you died. I don’t know what I would do without you if you died Leo. …Promise me. Promise that you’ll never leave me.”

 

She stared at him with those big red eyes of hers. Eyelashes fluttering with every slow blink. Leo hadn’t noticed how close she had shifted, her hand resting on his thigh as she looked up at him, anxiousness clouding her expression. He leaned forward and she did nothing but sat there with that worried pout tugging at her lips. Leo kissed her forehead, lips a ghost against her skin and she gasped quietly, hand mistakenly landing on his chest, pinching a bit of the fabric of his shirt between two fingers.

 

“Only if you promise to do the same.” His voice lowered to a mumble, brown eyes piercing through the small lingering walls of defense she had built up, “I’m yours, Corrin. I have been from the beginning.”

 

Her grip on his shirt tightened and without thinking she closed the already small gap between them. Leo found himself barely able to catch his breath, chuckling quietly against her as he held her cheek with his hand, tilting her upward. It was a new experience but she could feel nothing but warmth welling up inside of her. In that moment they became one, body and soul. The few times she opened her eyes, she saw Leo. All she could smell was Leo, the musky scent almost reminiscent of a library. All she heard was Leo, mumbling tiny words she could barely make out against her thumping heart.

 

When they broke, Corrin wasted no time throwing herself into his arms, her head finding itself comfortable atop his shoulder. Leo chuckled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer.

 

“I love you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aah i love writing fluff
> 
> next chapter killed me while writing it soo
> 
> thank you for reading!


	4. longing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "he wanted her home"

Leo closed his book with a huff, slipping out of his seat and pushing the chair in. Another day gone to waste. Stuck inside the castle, orders given by Xander for Gods knows what reason. He should be out there, destroying Hoshidan troops, capturing the traitor, but instead he was stuck rereading the same old stupid books, lost in his thoughts. The castle was quiet, though Leo had grown accustom to it. Corrin’s betrayal left all the royals regulated to their rooms and the servants barely around.

 

It had been little more than four month since Corrin had made her decision to side with Hoshido and the Nohrian castle was still erupting with gossip on their traitor. Supposedly, she was engaged to a Hoshidan. The idea alone made him chuckle. Corrin really was a traitor, not just to Nohr but to Leo himself.

 

She promised she would never leave. Then she did. 

 

Did she ever really love him like he loved her? He wondered, did she ever think about him now that they were enemies? Did she ever regret her choice, wishing she could switch sides and go back to Nohr to be with her family and spend her life with him? Was she even her to begin with?

 

He had saw her recently in Izumo. The day he had nearly killed Iago if not for her kindness. She tried desperately to explain herself but he refused to listen. Lies it was. All lies. He wouldn’t believe her spouting about the sword Father had gifted her being responsible for Queen Mikoto's death. He wouldn’t believe her half broken shouts about how all she wanted was the war to end, and how she didn’t want to hurt anyone.

 

That would be something she would say though. Corrin was always about peace. Her sheltered life gave her the impression that everything in the world was perfect. War didn’t exist. Struggle was nonexistent. Leo suddenly felt sympathetic; her first week outside of the Northern Fortress included her involved in multiple fights for her life and forcing her to make one of the toughest decisions of her life. He hated admitting it but he could see why she would want to stay with Hoshido. They were her birth family. They deserved her. But Leo loved her. He wanted her with him. He wanted her to keep her promise just so they could be together.

 

Leo found himself in bed, eyes shut. He wanted her with him. He wanted to quiz her again and jokingly give her bad grades so he could tease her with more textbook work. He wanted to play chess with her again, see her eyebrows furrow up in frustration on her turns. He wanted to cuddle up with her, feel her heart beating beside his, nearly in unison. He wanted to kiss her, Gods at least one more time. He wanted to remind her that he still loved her, even if she betrayed Nohr, betrayed him. He wanted to tell her that even if she were to find someone in Hoshido, someone who made her happy, he would always love her.

 

Leo wanted her so badly.

 

He just wanted her home.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would have added a happy ending
> 
> ( trust me i wanted to )
> 
> buuuut, ehh I figured I'd leave it like that
> 
> thank you for reading!


End file.
